Who wants to be Sakura-Con's Karaoke Idol? This is a two-part contest
with a preliminary round on Friday and a finalist round on Saturday.

The preliminary round will have room for 40 acts to compete. Of those
acts 10 will be selected to compete in the finalist round.

Sign-ups for the karaoke idol contest will be online this year on a
first-come-first-serve basis.

In the event of a no show or canceled act, we will have a waiting
list available in the karaoke room. Please speak with the Karaoke
Coordinator. The list fills up rather quickly so be prepared! A karaoke
performer may only appear on stage once in allowance for an opportunity
for more variety of performers.

You must specify the songs you are going to sing when you sign up for
the contest. You may change your songs freely up until you check in for
the contest, but you must specify something when you sign up. Once you
have checked in at the convention and handed over your music, you are
committed to your song selection. See the song section regarding types
of songs allowed for the contest.

All registered contestants are required to check in 30 minutes before
the contest to confirm their appearance. Contestants who fail to check
in will lose their spot in the contest. Once the contest starts, the MC
will only call the names of those who have checked in. For check-in, you
will need your Sakura-Con badge and the music you will be using in the
contest, which must be on a CD, an MP3 player (iPod, Zune, etc.), or in
our music library.

The use of backup dancers in the karaoke contest is not permitted.
Special effects and use of stage props must be approved by the Karaoke
Coordinator and are by prior arrangement only.

2. Eligibility

The contest is open to all registered convention members/attendees.
You must have a valid Sakura-Con Membership/Attendee badge to attend the
convention on Friday AND Saturday. If you are unable to attend the
convention on both days you are immediately disqualified to participate
in the contest. There is no additional cost to register for the
contest.

Group performances are encouraged to sign up for the contest but are
limited to 3 members due to stage size and availability of microphones.
A person can sign up as a solo act or a group act, but not both. This
allows for a wider variety of performers and gives others a chance to
participate.

Sakura-Con Staff and Crew, Guests of Honor, and Industry members are
not eligible to win prizes in the contest, however, are allowed to
perform. We also offer Staff and Guests to volunteer performing during
intermission at the contest.

3. Song Selections and Format

Song Selection

Songs must be from the following categories: Anime, Video game,
Japanese Drama or Soap themes, J-pop, J-rock, J-rap, J-R&B, or
Japanese folk.

English or other non-Japanese songs from the dubbed version of an
anime series or video game are acceptable. (For example, the German
theme to Sailor Moon, or songs from Robotech).

As this is a contest for an anime convention, your song must be from
one of the categories mentioned above. For purposes of this rule, image
songs (songs which aren't necessarily used in the anime, but are on the
soundtrack) are okay. Songs from the live-action version of an anime
(for example, the live action Sailor Moon) are also acceptable for
purposes of fulfilling this requirement.

TWO (2) songs are needed to participate in this contest: A
preliminary round song and a song for the finalist round. The
preliminary round song must be at most 2 minutes and 30 seconds (2:30)
long. The song for the finalist round must be no more than 5 minutes
long.

You can sing the same song for the preliminary and finalist round as
long as you create a short version track for the preliminary round.
Singing the same song will not lower your chances of winning the
contest.

Songs longer than specified will be faded out when the limit is
reached. If the contestant wishes a song to be faded out early, he/she
must indicate so to the Karaoke staff either by placing the microphone
back on the stand and bowing to the audience, or something similar so we
know to stop the track.

Song Formats

Contestants are allowed and encouraged to bring their own CD to sing
along with. If you do not have a CD with which to sing with, please
contact the Karaoke Coordinator to make sure they have the appropriate
song prior to the contest. The use of karaoke or instrumental tracks are
preferred but not required. The services of making any vocal track to a
somewhat near karaoke track are available online.

Contestants who provide their own music must provide it in a format
readable on an audio CD or Mp3 player. Contestants are allowed and
encouraged to bring their own CD to sing along with. Mp3 players are
permitted, however, check with karaoke staff prior to the contest to see
if it can be accommodated. We do not allow LPs, cassette tapes, laser
disks, VHS or 8-track formats.

Contestants may choose songs from our open mic library, if they
cannot provide their own music. However, this is at the contestant's own
risk. We are not responsible if the song sounds different from what the
contestant was expecting, and we do not guarantee the availability of
any particular song. Please check with the karaoke coordinator prior to
the contest to see if your song is available in their library.

Contestants may not sing a cappella style. You will be immediately
disqualified.

NO LIP-SYNCING! If it is determined that you are lip-syncing, then
you will be disqualified from the contest.

Singing with a lyric sheet is ok, but could lower your score with the
judges. If a contestant would like to play an instrument for their act
in the contest, please check with the karaoke coordinator before signing
up for the contest. It is important to see if set-up can be accommodated
due to time restraints during the contest. Acoustic guitars are easy to
set up, however a keyboard or electric drum-set could take up time and
may not be possible.

4. Judging

Contestants will be assigned a numerical score from 1-10 by each
judge based on vocal/singing performance, showmanship/presentation and
stage appeal. The scores from each judge are then tallied to come up
with a total score for the contestant. The winners will be determined by
the total sum of their scores and how their performance appealed to the
judges. Judges will make the final decision on winners in case of a
tie.

All decisions made by the judges are final.

5. Contest Categories and Awards

The winner categories for the contest are listed below. All
contestants will be judged and could win in any of the following
categories:

Grand:
Sakura-Con's Karaoke Idol (Best in Show for Vocals and Presentation)
Best Child Performance

Runners Up:
Best Group Performance
Best Vocals
Best Stage Presentation

Special Winners:
Guest of Honor's Choice
Audience's Choice

Awards

First place winner will receive a complimentary membership for Sakura-Con 2016!

In addition, all winners of the competition receive Petal Points certificates to be
used to buy items at the Sakura-Con prize store. Awards will be given to
the above winners as significant number of points. The number of points
won for each winner category will be announced as we approach the date
of the convention. In addition, winners will receive a plaque or medal
for the category they win.

6. Conduct

As a family oriented convention for anime fans of all ages, Sakura-Con
has certain standards of behavior which all convention attendees should
abide by at all times. For more information, please refer to the
convention's Policies, Rules of Conduct for the Sakura-Con Convention
Period.

The following rules are in addition to the Sakura-Con code of conduct
that applies to all attendees:

All aspects of the act, including, but not limited to: costume,
conduct on stage, and song lyrics, are to abide by no worse than a
"PG-13" standard. If you're in doubt as to whether something is
suitable, just ask yourself, "Would you do this in front of your
mother?" If you're still in doubt, please email or post and tell
us what you have in mind, and we'll work something out.

If any violations of this policy occur, Karaoke staff reserves the
right to disqualify offenders from the contest or terminate the
act in mid-song. In extreme cases, offenders may also be subject
to convention penalties including loss of badge and removal from
the convention.

During the contest, no interaction with the MC is allowed.
Contestants may not touch or approach the judges' table.
Contestants may not go into the audience or use an audience
member in their act. Actions that encourage general audience
participation as a whole (such as asking the crowd to clap) are
okay.

The only persons allowed in the performing area are the MC,
Sakura-Con staff and guests, judges, and contestants. Friends,
relatives, fans, mascots, managers, agents, and any other persons
or beings not actually performing in the contest are not allowed
on stage.

DECISIONS MADE BY THE KARAOKE COORDINATOR OR DIRECTOR OF
PROGAMMING ARE FINAL AND NOT NEGOTIABLE.

All rules for the Sakura-Con Karaoke Contest are subject to change
without notice. While we attempt to keep you up to date of any changes
via the Sakura-Con website, these changes may occur at any time.